Viral Video Leaked Sensitive IDF Information

This post first appeared on The Shmooze blog at the Forward.

Oops! A six-minute YouTube video showing classified IDF maps and command-and-control systems went viral over several months before authorities caught on and removed it. But it was too late to undo possible damage that might have been done, as many viewers had already downloaded the video to their personal hard drives.

Ynet has posted the video after having blurred out all the sensitive material, like maps, communications equipment and information posted on bulletin boards. To the Shmooze’s eye, it does not appear that the video was meant as a deliberate security breech. Rather, it seems that a bunch of bored teenagers — who happen to be IDF soldiers — simply made a music video to amuse themselves.

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© 2011 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved.

 

Fisher vs. Shatner; Star Wars vs. Star Trek

This post first appeared on The Shmooze blog at the Forward.

Carrie Fisher and William Shatner have taken their gloves off, duking it out in YouTube videos over which is better: Star Wars or Star Trek.

They poke as much fun at each other’s having aged over the years as they do at the relative merits of their respective legendary productions. Fisher, looking svelt but wearing a way-too-low-cut top, challenges the perennially young-looking Shatner to a “costume-off.” She makes fun of Shatner’s clingy Captain Kirk costume while complimenting her own Princess Leia metal bikini. Shatner’s sharp retort is that at least his costume “has stretch” so that it would still fit his now larger physique. “I don’t know if we are ready to see you in that bikini,” he tells Fisher. “While my costume just needs some push and pull, your bikini would need some real…uplift.”

Click here to read more and watch the videos.

© 2011 Renee Ghert-Zand . All rights reserved.

“Blind Girl” To Raise Money For Autism Charity

This post first appeared as “Julian Schnabel Auctions Surfboard for Charity” on The Shmooze blog at the Forward.

Visual artist and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Julian Schnabel has donated one of his limited edition “Blind Girl Surf Club” surfboards to a charity auction in California for Surfers Healing: A Foundation For Autism.

The black surfboard, which has a picture of a girl with a purple mark over her eyes on one side and “Blind Girl Surf Club” written on the other, is listed with an opening bid of $20,000 on the Surfers Healing fourth annual Holiday Surfboard Auction website. The fundraiser is sponsored by The Ritz-Carlton and Laguna Niguel’s Community Footprints program.

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© 2011 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved.